


Absinthe and Belladonna

by Tria_Prima



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:13:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23090782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tria_Prima/pseuds/Tria_Prima
Summary: She's been theirs for generations, but the tether was broken. She was once theirs, and so she would be again. The Clergy would see to it.
Relationships: Cardinal Copia/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> This comes in part of a recurring dream that I once had. Likely going to be a multi-part story, but will be drawn-out. It starts slow, but I promise it's all worth the wait.

He'd never felt nervous before a show before. But yet it came off him waves. Enough so to disrupt the others around him. The Ghouls looked at him curiously. Copia knew that he'd be setting the mood and it would affect them, but he couldn’t help himself. Something felt different about tonight. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but it left him on edge. What could possibly be changing this so much? Hesitation bubbled up and he almost considered delaying the beginning of the show. Never cancel, but delay. He was sure the Ghouls would cover for him, but perhaps it was best to just bang the show out. Seeing that he was being ridiculous would push the thoughts to the back of his mind. Or, at least, that was the idea. Who knew if it would work.

He offered a smile to the Ghouls around him, his hands out in front of him to symbolize ease. One of them nodded to him before stiffly turning away. Clearly, they didn’t buy it, but what could he do? He sighed, waving the Ghouls in front of him. So be it, he had to get the show on the road. One of the Ghouls muttered something under their breath, and Copia gave them a sharp look. They returned it, the tension evident. He was sure he’d hear about it later, but right now it didn’t matter. They had a show to put on.

One of the other Ghouls nudged gently, breaking the eye contact. Copia raised his hands again in a more submissive gesture, sighing. “Of course, of course,” he said, another weak smile surfacing. “The show must go on.” Silently, the Ghouls filed forward, gazes straight ahead. When they’d all placed on stage, he sighed. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes. He needed to clear his mind so he wouldn’t royally fuck this show up. The eyes of the Clergy were watching him with pointed interest. Ever since Imperator’s return, things had grown more… serious, if that was even possible.

Opening his eyes again, Copia felt a surge of confidence. He inhaled deeply, and let it out slowly as he ascended the stairs towards the stage. In a matter of moments, none of this would even matter for the next couple of hours, anyway. The beginning chords of _Rats_ began, and Copia stepped out onto the stage. It came naturally, his nerves ebbing away. Though still a nag in the back of his mind, it luckily didn’t affect him. Most of the show went on without incident. The usual banter, the crowd lively as ever.

He took a breather as the Ghouls set into their pre-Cirice guitar duel. Between the costume change and listening for the timing on the guitars, he almost didn’t notice the sudden pulse of dread. Copia gasped audibly, staggered. Something was going to happen, but he couldn’t put it to a thing. Shaking his head, he pushed himself back on stage. It was better to face whatever it was head-on. His eyes set onto his target, to what the fans have affectionately called the “Cirice’d,” and something tugged in his heart. Perplexed, he almost missed the beginning of the song.

But when it came time to kneel, he knew he was in trouble. His heart was pounding in his chest, an extremely abnormal response, but once he took her hand… Everything stopped. The world melted around them, and for that briefest moment- it was just them. Their souls became one, a feeling he hadn’t known before. And then it shattered. A Ghoul nudged him with their foot. Copia blinked several times, gaining his bearings before launching back into the song. He shot a sidelong glance at the Ghoul, who nodded. Luckily, they understood immediately.

Though they finished the set without any other disturbances, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. About that moment. Who was she? Had she felt the same thing he had? What had even happened? As the Ghouls filed off stage, he stopped to look back at the crowd, looking for her. But she was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, he stalked off the stage. But if he was lucky, his Ghouls would find her for him. Or perhaps he could get the Clergy to help.

The meet and greet with the fans couldn’t go fast enough. He needed to decompress. To find her. The desperation was draining. But what luck, that she should happen to be one of the last few in line for a picture. He sharply inhaled. Up close and personal, her beauty was astounding. Her hair the deepest black, eyes a jade green with hints of honeyed amber. She was made up to the nines, her clothes flowing like a dark goddess. It almost made him weak in the knees- but _why?_

He offered her a stuttered hello, and he was sure how nervous he was was completely evident. She smiled at him- sultry and devious- and returned the greeting. Her voice sounded like velvet, so pleasant to his ears. What was this sorcery? He made a mental note to inquire with Imperator about this, he’d never been affected so strongly by the presence of another. There was a brief onset of small talk, where he mostly avoided eye contact. Had he always been this terrible around women?

Then finally, the camera man made a noise to insinuate they’d taken longer than necessary. He chuckled, mumbling out an apology and motioned for her to take whatever stance. It took but a moment before they were touching again, and he should have known- the world began to fade away. It was almost as if a ritual, the two of them meant to become one. He turned to look at her, but found her gaze seemed far away. Perhaps, by luck, she too felt the connection and could explain to him what it meant.

But slowly, her gaze turned to him. Her eyes remained blank, but it shot a white-hot jolt of electricity through him. Memories- not his own?- came to him, and as soon as the camera shuttered he broke their physical contact. They both blinked several times. Nervous laughter. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but it seemed like he was doomed to not remember. She muttered something he couldn’t hear before bowing away. Copia blinked several times, trying to make sense of what just happened. He looked to the camera man, who shrugged, and ushered the next person onwards.

Imperator had many questions to answer for this, because now he could remember her name. She was Mara, _and she was his._


	2. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Clergy has many things to answer for, but Copia is left with even more questions than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that there are no formal first names for the first three Papas, and hadn't planned far enough ahead to give them names. Oops. I'll revisit this later on.

The Chapel was eerily quiet. There was normally a quiet murmur of people bustling about, but tonight it seemed as though everyone was in hiding. Copia was certain that word had already spread of the incident at the show, and how it nearly derailed the rest of their tour. He'd become obsessed. The woman couldn't be found, it almost as if he had hallucinated the entire thing. His footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway, almost mocking him. Grumbling to himself, Copia knew exactly where he was heading. Nihil may be asleep- _the old fucking geezer-_ but the loving Sister would be awake. Imperator is the entire reason he was here. She would give him the answers. The door to the office was slightly ajar, and he could hear heated whispers. 

"How did this happen? She belongs to _the line._ And he is not from it! How could this have happened?" That obvious disdain. He couldn't wait until Nihil finally kicked the bucket.

"Things happen for a reason. He wouldn't have shown her to the Cardinal if there was no intent." Ah, forever the first to his defense. Imperator had her own agenda, but she was a person that Copia considered trustworthy. Making friends in The Chapel was hard. Things happened constantly, congregation members pitted against each other. He was even forced into a situation that he wasn't exactly proud of, and to this day he regretted it. He sighed, deciding it was better not to eavesdrop this time. He was tired, but he needed to hear this. Loudly, he cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Ah, Cardinal!" There was always so much affection in her voice when he appeared. He offered her a wide grin, and an embrace that she gladly accepted. He could feel the venom in the eyes of Nihil, and he turned his glance towards the old man.

"Something you need to say, Papa?" The bite in his voice couldn't be missed. It's true that there was no love lost between the two of them, though at this point Copia was positive neither of them even knew why. The tension was obvious. Nihil opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the Sister.

“I was hoping you’d stop by, Cardinal,” she said warmly, taking his hands in hers. “Please, I want to hear everything that happened. I want to describe… _her…_ to me. Please. No detail is unimportant.” Imperator sat him down and leaned against the desk. Copia sighed, removing the hat from his head and fidgeting with it in his lap.

“She… she was b-beautiful. Perfect.” His voice was small, looking down at his hands. It was almost as if in an instant, he’d crawled inside himself. How do you explain it when the perfect woman walks into your life? Would that perhaps have been what happened with the Sister and Nihil? He had heard they had been married, deeply in love- but it had gone so horribly awry and she’d run off into the night. Not that Copia would blame her, Nihil could be downright insufferable.

“Perfect,” Nihil echoed, dreamily. Almost as if he recalled the exact woman. Copia looked up at him, alarmed.

“You know? That beautiful goddess of the night?” Suddenly animated again, you could barely notice the awkward tremor in his voice, stutter flown into the wind. “With her hair black as night, and eyes as green as demonic fire. Her skin as white as death itself. Oh, Papa, she was perfect.”

The Sister made a noise. Despite her warmness towards him, her posture had stiffened. Clearly the woman in question was someone that Sister was familiar with- but how? Copia watched her carefully, his glance sidelong from Nihil. She stared straight ahead, her face stoic. Had this been the woman who had torn them apart? Carefully, Copia reached out to take Imperator’s hand.

“Sister,” he drawled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Who is she?”

The Sister’s face twitched, and she looked down to Copia. Her expression had turned dark. He’d only seen this expression used on Nihil a handful of times. And it struck fear straight into his core. He didn’t say anything, though he was sure that he visibly winced. The corner of her lips ticked up, ever so slightly, and she leaned to place her fingertips on his cheek.

“Cardinal, that woman is not a woman at all- but she is a demon. A creature of the night.” Well, that was certainly a fancy way of saying prostitute. Copia bit back the urge to say so, and allowed the Sister to continue. “Each of them fell to her, but when she abandoned the third…” Her voice sounded weak, and her rage seemed to dissipate. “He got what he deserved.”

Sister Imperator pulled her hand from Copia’s and left the room without a word. Stunned, Copia turned towards Nihil. No doubt they both were in shock and had their jaws on the floor. Why was it suddenly such a touchy subject with the Sister? Did it bring about bad memories? Before either of them could say a word to each other, Copia pulled himself up from the chair to chase after the Sister, not bothering to say goodbye to Nihil. Surely, this was more important.

“Sister!” His voice echoed against the empty hallways as he ran down them after her. “Sister, wait!” Breathless, he finally caught up to the older woman. She stared down her nose at him, arms crossed. He held up a hand to plead for a moment so he could catch his breath before continuing.

“What has she done? If she hurt you, I swear-“

“No. Not me.” The pain was evident in her voice. Ah, this had something to do with the boys. “She was bound to serve. She obeyed the first two without question, obedient. But when we gave her to the third… Something changed. _She_ changed. I don’t know if it had something to do with him, but she left in the middle of the night. We could tell immediately that they were no longer bound. She’s been in the wind ever since. I hate to think of what happened.”

Copia took a moment to digest this information. She was far older than she looked, then. She appeared to be no more than her late twenties, yet here they were. Hearing how she’d been in servitude for so long, it clicked in place fairly quickly. “Ah. To be in love,” he commented wryly, shaking his head. “They were in love.” It all made sense. The contract likely stated that there was to be nothing physical about her servitude. And in fear of what she’d done, she fled. Perhaps that was why they had taken the third out.

“I had considered that, but I’m not sure that’s what happened.” Sister sounded tired, as if the whole ordeal had sapped away her energy. Perhaps it had, remembering something so unpleasant. “If you’ll excuse me. Goodnight, Cardinal.” Her usual affection for him had returned as she patted his hands and turned back down the hallway. This left him still with more questions than answers. He sighed.

“Goodnight, Sister,” he said softly as he turned to head towards his own quarters. Tomorrow was a new day. Perhaps he would find the answers then.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this veered into a weird place, but it'll make more sense in the next chapter. Copia's personality will be more fleshed out, and we'll learn more about Mara and the visions!


End file.
